Idols vandalised in Agra temple

Agra(Uttar Pradesh)

Idols in a temple in Loha Mandi area here were found vandalised following which police registered a case against some children.

Locals in the area are protesting against the vandalisation and registration of a case against the children and are demanding that the real culprits be booked.

According to police, the Jageshwar Nath Temple was vandalised on Monday night at Syed Para.

The damaged idols in the 50-year-old temple were subsequently replaced after ritualistic puja yesterday.

Gold ornaments and some other expensive items were also found missing, police said quoting locals.

Police said today that a case has been registered against some unidentified children between 10-12 years of age, for damaging the idols.

However, the locals became angry with the police for not booking suspects, who they say are above 18 years of age, even as some Hindutva organisations held demonstration yesterday asking police to take prompt action against the culprits.

The senior police officials visited the site today and security has been beefed up in the area after the incident.

A group of Christians under the banner of United Christian Forum also visited the site and urged people to remain calm.

Earlier, on April 16, a church was vandalised in the Cantonment area in the city.

Christian edu institutes to remain shut tomorrow

Lucknow

Christian educational institutions in the state capital will remain closed tomorrow as a mark of protest against attacks on the community in the country.

The community members will hold a dharna at GPO crossing in Hazrataganj from 10 am to 4 pm to protest the atrocities being carried out on them and the recent attack on an Agra Church, said a member of the the Uttar Pradesh Masihi Association.

Banners reading “stop atrocities against Christians” have been put outside prominent Christian missionary schools and the key members of the community, including heads of institutions, pastors and others will participated in the dharna.

A delegation of Christians had on April 20 met Governor Ram Naik and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in this regard.

Ready to reveal how many attacks took place on religious places under whose regime

New Delhi

Recent attacks on religious places led to a verbal clash in Lok Sabha today with Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking to blunt opposition onslaught by expressing readiness to table a detailed statement to show how many such incidents had taken place in which regime.

“If I get permission, I am ready to table a full-fledged statement on the floor of the House to show how many attacks had taken place on churches and other religious places under whose regime,” Singh said.

The Home Minister also saw a “deliberate attempt” to repeatedly raise incidents of alleged communal violence anywhere in the country in Parliament.

His remarks on “deliberate attempt” to repeatedly raise the issue in Parliament angered a section of the opposition with Congress, IUML and Left parties staging a walkout.

Singh’s statement came during the Zero Hour in reponse to K C Venugopal (Cong) who expressed concern over the rising attacks on churches and other religious places in different parts of the country.

“Targetting minority community institutions has become the order of the day…It is a highly dangerous trend”, Venugopal said regretting that this was happening despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurances to provide protection to the minorities.

Venugopal also referred to some controversial remarks by a General Secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha.

Certain remarks by the Congress member were disallowed by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan after Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy objected to them.

Supporting Venugopal, Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge said there was no alternative but to raise the issue as no one is being brought to book despite so many incidents.

Home Minister said it was the government’s thinking to see that a sense of confidence develops in the minorities and to provide security to them so that everyone can practice his faith without fear.

– PTI